Rockland · Orange · Westchester
Your child has been charged with a crime in Rockland, Orange or Westchester County — call us immediately
The first few hours decide more of this case than anything that happens later. An attorney can end the questioning, be present at the arraignment to argue for no bail, protect your child's rights, guide your family through every step, and build a strategy for the best possible resolution.
If your child is at a police station right now: say you want a lawyer, say you do not consent to any search, and do not answer questions until counsel is present. Then call (845) 290-2492.
Why an attorney has to be involved immediately
The interrogation can be stopped — today
Police are trained to get a young person to talk, and teenagers routinely waive rights they do not understand. Once an attorney is involved, questioning usually ends: the officer is told to go through counsel. Statements taken before a lawyer arrives are among the hardest things to remove later, which is why the call should happen before anyone answers questions — not after.
Someone should argue for no bail at arraignment
The first court date is where release conditions get set, and those conditions can follow your child for months: curfews, supervision, no-contact orders, even a travel restriction that keeps them away from school. An attorney who is present at the arraignment can make the argument for release on your own recognizance instead of letting the court adopt the prosecutor's request by default.
Your child's rights have to be protected now, not later
Whether a case belongs in Family Court or in criminal court turns on age, the charge and the facts — and it changes what a conviction costs. Search questions, identification procedures, school statements and social media evidence all have rules attached to them. Once a right is given up, it is rarely recovered.
You need someone to explain what is actually happening
A parent in a courthouse hallway is handed forms, dates and a plea offer without anyone explaining the consequences. You should know what each date is for, what each signature means, and what the realistic outcome is — in plain language, in your language, before you are asked to decide.
The resolution has to be built, not accepted
Young clients are the ones with the most to lose from a record and the most to gain from a diversionary outcome: an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, a youthful offender adjudication, a deferral or a program. Those results are negotiated early, by someone who knows the prosecutors in that courtroom — not asked for on the day of sentencing.
What happens, step by step
- 01
Call immediately — before questioning
Call or text (845) 290-2492 at any hour. If your child has been taken to a police station or a holding facility, tell the officer you want a lawyer and that you will not answer questions or consent to any search until counsel is present. That single sentence is the most protective thing a parent can do.
- 02
Arraignment or initial appearance
The court reads the charges, confirms representation and decides release. In Family Court this is the initial appearance on a petition; in criminal court it is the arraignment. Bail, supervision, curfew and no-contact terms are set here, and they are hardest to unwind afterward.
- 03
The case finds its proper forum
Depending on age and charge, the matter may proceed as a delinquency proceeding in Family Court, as a youth offender case in a specialized criminal part, or as an adult prosecution. Where the case is heard shapes the record, the sentencing options and the long-term consequences.
- 04
Discovery, motions and conferences
The prosecution turns over its evidence, and the defense tests it — the stop, the identification, the statement, the lab work. In most young-person cases this is the phase where a dismissal or a deferral is won, long before any trial.
- 05
Resolution or hearing
The goal is an outcome your child can live with at 30: a dismissal after a period of good behavior, a deferral, a program, or a trial when the evidence does not hold up. A guilty plea entered to make a bad week end is the outcome that follows your child for decades.
Questions parents ask us first
- Do I need a Rockland County juvenile lawyer, or can any attorney handle my child's case?
- Juvenile cases in Rockland County can be heard in Rockland Family Court, in the Youth Part of Rockland County Court, or begin in a local town or village court, depending on your child's age and the charge. A Rockland County juvenile attorney who knows these courts can act quickly at the first appearance. Yvonne Garbett is based in New City, across from the Rockland County Courthouse, and also represents young people in Orange and Westchester Counties.
- My child is under 18 — will this go on their permanent record?
- It depends on the forum and the disposition. Family Court delinquency adjudications are far more protected than criminal convictions, and some outcomes can be sealed. But a plea in criminal court at 16 or 17 can create a record that follows your child into college admissions, financial aid, employment, licensing and immigration. That difference is decided early, so it should not be decided by whoever is on duty that day.
- The police say this will go away if we just sign something.
- Do not sign anything before speaking with counsel. A consent to search, a statement of facts, a diversion agreement or an admission on a form can all be used later. A one-minute call is free; the signature is not.
- Can we afford a lawyer for this?
- Call and ask. Payment plans are available, and if cost is the barrier you should hear that before you decide to handle the case without counsel — not after a plea has been entered.
- Do we need a lawyer if we are told a public defender will be appointed?
- Your child is entitled to counsel, and an appointed attorney may do good work. What an appointed attorney usually cannot do is be there before the interrogation, review the papers in advance, or argue release conditions on day one. Retaining counsel early is what makes those things possible.
Every case turns on its own facts. The information on this page is general, not legal advice.
Se habla español
Si a su hijo le imputaron un cargo, llame de inmediato
La versión en español de esta guía explica lo mismo: por qué hay que detener el interrogatorio, por qué un abogado debe estar en la lectura de cargos para pedir la libertad sin fianza, y cómo se construye la mejor resolución posible.